Installing head



May 21, 1957. A. WJHARDY INSTALLING HEAD Filed Feb. 25, 1954 'INVENTOR. ,QLFRED W HARDY WWV M I ATTORNEY 2,792,853 Patented May 21, 1957 INSTALLING HEAD Alfred W. Hardy, Mendham, N. J., assignor to The Thomas & Betts Co., Elizabeth, N. 1., a corporation of New Jersey Application February 23, 1954, Serial No. 411,783

1 Claim. Cl. 140-113 The invention relates to an improvement in compression tools of the squeeze die type, and specifically relates to such tools wherein the upper die is replaceably fixed in the frame or installing head of the tool and the lower die is shiftable to and from the same under hydraulic or pneumatic power. I

More specifically defined, the invention relates to' an improved technique in forming and mounting the upper die in the installing head of such tools.

While the disclosure is of general application whenever power-actuated forging die tools are used, the specific tool herein disclosed is designed to deform metallic and plastic cylindrical connectors into a form hexagonal in cross section to crimp the connector onto electric conductors therein. The present disclosure is a development of the upper die mounting in the crimping tool disclosed in the patent to Clapp, No. 2,568,054, September 8, 1951.

The present disclosure features the use of dies which can be sliced ofi as needed from a carefully machined stock die bar so that each of the two coactive dies in use at any time in the compression tool shall be duplicates of each other, at least in so far as their overall dimensions and machined active work faces are concerned,

Accordingly, an objective of the invention is to pro' vide a simplified technique for utilizing one of a pair of such identical dies as the upper die in the tool, assembled with mounting parts by means of which the upper die may be quickly and positively secured in locked relation will be in part obvious from an inspection of the accom panying drawings and in part will be more fully set forth in the following particular description of one former: compression tool embodying the article aspect of the invention, and the invention also consists in certain new and novel features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view with the right half in vertical section, taken on the line 11 of Fig. 2, and the left half in elevation, of the installing head of a compression tool forming a preferred embodiment of the tool or machine aspect of the invention with the dies in their fully spaced-apart relation and showing in ghost outlines an electric connector in position about to be deformed by the dies when forced together into mutual contact;

Fig. 2 is a view partly in plan and partly in section in full lines taken on the broken line 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking downwardly on the tool as indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 3 is an exploded detail view in vertical section on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2, with the parts shown separated and showing the upper die equipped with a stop plate and the associated part of the yoke to which the die and stop plate are secured; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a carefully machined stock bar shown sliced transversely into a plurality of slices and two of which slices form the dies of the preceding figures, prior to both being drilled and tapped.

In the drawing and referring first to the disclosure in Figs. 1 and 2 there is disclosed an installing head 10 of a hydraulic swaging or crimping tool, somewhat resembling the yoke 16 in the above-mentioned Clapp patent, and provided at its lower end with a cylindrical body portion 11, internally threaded at its lower end as shown at '12 and designed to receive therein a hydraulic cylinder -The head 10 includes a pair of upstanding diametrically related arms 15 whose inner faces are recessed to form a pair of grooved guideways 16 facing each other and open at their upper ends to receive the dies. The two arms are provided on their outer sides with horizontally extending bayonet slots 17 for receiving the yoke arms hereinafter described. The upper sides of the slots 17 are of dove-tail form as shown at 18 and slightly inclined from the horizontal from one end towards the other end.

The lower die 13 is inserted in place through the open top of the head and is slid downwardly between the guideways 16 and is held thereby from rotating as the ram is screwed into the recess 14 of the die.

An upper relatively fixed die 19, identical with the lower shiftable die 13, at least in so far as their over all dimensions, the configuration of their Work-engaging faces 20, and their faces opposite the work faces and the ends within the guideways are concerned, is located fixed in place against rotary movement as it is fitted between the guideways 16 at their upper ends.

The upper die is held in place by a rugged yoke 21 of inverted form which includes a flat body portion 22 which extends diametrically across the open top of the head 10. The yoke at opposite ends of its body portion is provided with a pair of depending arms 23 whose lower ends terminate in inwardly projecting ears 24 contoured to fit in the bayonet slots 17 and arranged so that, when the yoke is rotated clockwise from the dotted line position shown in Fig. 2 into the full line position, the yoke acts to secure itself and the parts hereinafter described swivelled thereto in locked position with respect to the head.

The upper face 25 of the upper die, that is, the face opposite its recessed Work face, is machined flat as hereinafter pointed out. The upper face 25 is recessed at its center, drilled and tapped to provide a screw socket 26. A thin steel plate 27 of the width of the die is located on the face 25 and is provided centrally thereof with a screw hole 28. A headed screw 29 is passed through the hole 28 in the plate 27 and into the socket 26 to secure the plate 27 to the die 19. The plate 27 has a length slightly longer than the face 25 to form stop projections 30 at opposite ends designed, when fitted in recessed seats 31 in the upper end of the head in line with the guideways, to prevent the upper die from falling into the head along the guideways. For this reason plate 27 is referred to hereinafter as a stop plate.

While the binding of the screw connection at 26, 29, when tightened is sufficient to resist rotation of the stop plate relative to the die, it is suggested as a further precaution that in forming the stop plate it be stamped with integral indentations 32, and the face 25 be provided with rotation of the yoke and head. For this purpose the body portion 22 of the yoke is provided on its under side and atits center with the female element 35 of a snap fastener, the coacting male element of which is formed by the button-like head 56 of thescrew '29, which fits within the split spring ring 37 of the element 35. In order to insure the proper locating of the yoke when in operative locking position relative to the head and to assist in defeating accidental shifting of the yoke out of its locked position, the yoke is provided with a pair of friction catches 38 with spring-pressed buttons 39 of spherical form engaging in recesses 40 formed in the top of the-arms 15.

It is a feature of this disclosure that the dies 13 and 19 are formed as sections slicedfrom the same carefully machined stock bar. In Fig. 4 there is shown a long stock bar A which has been formed originally of one rectan gular bar with the width required so that sections sliced therefrom will have a snug but sliding fit-between the guideways of the installing head and inwhich'the-face opposing the grooved side is carefully machined to .provide a flat surface perpe'n'dicularto the planes of the end faces of the bar. The bar so formed is sliced with cuts B-equidistantly spaced apart so that cachsectio'n 'C shall have the Width desired of the dies. In this way every stock die formed from such sections will be ide'ntical'with every other stock die used in the instant tool.

In operation, a pairof the sections C are'tapped 'and threaded, one to form the recess 14 in the lower die and the other to form the socket 26 in the upper-die. The lower die is dropped into the head and the ram secured into the recess 14 as above indicated. The upper die is equipped with the stop plate 27 laidlengthwise thereon and thescrew 29 tightened. The unit of die and stop plate so assembled is located within the yoke and the head 36 forced into the element 35 past the spring ring 37 to mount the upper die to the yoke through the swivel 34 and which is most conveniently had when the length of the die and yoke are at right angles to the plane of the arms 15, as indicated in ghost outline in Fig.2.

The upper die is theninserted into place with its ends slidable in the guideway and lowered until the stop projections 30 of the stop plate 27 are located in the seats 31. The yoke is then rotated clockwise until the friction catches 38snap into their respective recesses 40. At this time the cars 24 have advanced into the bayonet slots 17 as far aspossible and in this way the yoke acts to defeat any possibility of the upper die being displaced by rotative forces originating in the hydraulic cylinder'and act ing through the ram plunger and the work in the tool.

In the illustrated'case the work'coinprises'a'rrietal'connector D of cylindrical form containing a plurality of conductors E and otherwise of conventional form. The connector is disposed between the two half hexagonal recesses F in the opposing dies to deform the cylindrical connector into a hexagon in cross section and to crimp the connector onto the conductors therein. It is obviously within the scope of the disclosure to machine the original stockbar to provide a worksurrace other than thehexagonal design illustrated and,-in-those cases where, say, a cylindrical form of crimp is desired, the opposingfaces of the dies may be formed with-semi-cylindrical types of recesses.

I claim:

A compression tool of the squeeze type including a hollow installing head provided on its inner side with opposing vertical guideways and on its outer side with opposing open-ended slots, a pair of coactable die-elements within said head, one above the other, the upper die being relatively fixed and the lower die-relatively shiftable,

said-die elements being identical'in size and contour and slidably mounted between said guideways and held thereby against rotation about a vertical axis relative to each other and said installing head, a'stop plate secured on the upper die with its opposite ends projecting beyond said die and overlapping said installing head in the region of said guideways to support said die Within said installing head, a yoke including a pair of depending arms having hooked ends disposed across the upper end of said installing head in overlapping relation with said, upper die with its hooked ends anchored in said slots to prevent relative movement thereof in response to upward movement of said lower die acting through an article when disposed therebetween, said upperdie being provided with a screw stud securing said stop plate thereon and providing one element of a yieldable swivel connection and said yoke a complemen tary element coactable therewith whereby said yoke is adapted for'relative'rotation to and'from hooked engagement with said installing head.

References'Cited in the file'of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,559,480 Veillette 'Oct. 27, l925 1,708,115 Baldwin Apr. 9, 1929 1,740,094 Huff Dec. l7, 1929 1,935,916 Ragsdale Nov. 21, 1933 2,010,673 Lahr Aug. 6, 1935 2,320,680 Temple June 1, 1943 2,533,943 Klein Dec. 12, 1950 2,722,859 Sf'Olt'Z Nov.'8, 1955 

